


let me dream with you (take me to paradise)

by irelands



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Celebrity, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Cannes AU, F/M, Implied Sexual Content, Kylo Ren and Rey Are Not Related, Modern AU, idk why i wrote this tbh, the au nobody asked for
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-18
Updated: 2019-05-18
Packaged: 2020-03-07 10:54:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,325
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18871762
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/irelands/pseuds/irelands
Summary: The Cannes AU that nobody asked for.





	let me dream with you (take me to paradise)

 

* * *

* * *

 

The opening ceremony of the Cannes Film Festival.

 

Amidst all the flashing lights, she stared up at the famous steps of the Palais des Festivals, covered all the way to the very top with a lush red carpet. Looking out to both sides of her were dark-suited photographers attempting to get the attention of all the stars making their way down the carpet. Only a couple really knew her name. Much thanks to the announcement of her arrival.

 

While she wasn’t the biggest name in the movie she was presenting to the Cannes jury (and to audiences worldwide in less than a month), she was invited and with much debate, she’d decided to go. Just to see what it was like. You know - in case she never gets the chance again.

 

Rey Johnson was a nobody to the likes of these people and she knew it. The only films she’d starred in previous to this blockbuster were indie, low-budget films. Regardless, she made her way out of the sleek, black car she’d been escorted in and adjusted her dress, looking down at herself to make sure nothing went awry. She had to look _perfect_. Much like everyone else.

 

Taking in a deep breath, she can hear her name being announced over the speakers to the crowd surrounding the carpet. A tall, dark-haired man ushers her away from the street and onto the carpet. Thanking him, she smiles generously, nodding her head toward him then turning back to the crowd to look at them.

 

Rey notices a couple of people attempting to get her attention by yelling out her name. She waves over at them and wonders for a moment if they knew who she was if they were fans of hers. Rey’s questions are answered by them pointing down to a book they’re holding with a sharpie in their other hand - begging her to come over to them to sign an autograph.

 

In an instant, Rey’s feet are moving towards them and she’s reaching for the sharpie to begin signing her signature for the fans. “Rey! Merci beaucoup! You are incredible! We _love_ you!” they tell her, their voices just barely being heard over the music playing behind her. She smiles at them as she takes a couple of pictures with her fans - then is being motioned by someone to make her way back towards the carpet.

 

Feeling a little more confident now, she holds herself up straight as she looks back at cameras angled in her direction. Posing for cameras at the beginning of the carpet, she notices a person arriving behind her is grabbing all the attention from the crowd. With a heavy French accent, she hears the name of the person being announced over the speakers, “... _A Woman’s Gift_ leading actor, Ben Solo arrives at the carpet.” More words are being said in French, however, she can only really understand bits and pieces of the language.

 

 _A Woman’s Gift was_ anything but a small budget film. Filmed by the director everyone held with such high regards, Luke Skywalker - it was a chance of a lifetime for the cast to portray their roles in his romantic drama.

 

The casting was a huge and long process and Luke wanted perfection. Rey was one of the last people cast - not that it mattered, her role was significantly smaller compared to the rest as she only read for a couple of scenes here and there. Amongst the people lining up beside her, before they begin their walk along the carpet to the steps, Rey saw her cast members: Kaydel Connix, Bazine Netal, Armitage Hux, Poe Dameron, Finn Calrissian, and Rose Tico.

 

Then, with the much-anticipated arrival to the festival, there was Ben Solo - the nephew of Luke Skywalker, son of the legendary award-winning actress, Leia Organa, and famous TV star Han Solo. Ben stars opposite leading actress, Bazine, in the movie - a beautiful pairing on and off screen (if the rumors were true), Rey thought as she watched on briefly, seeing his tall figure standing beside her, grinning down and talking to her.

 

“Well, don’t you look beautiful,” Rey heard to her left as Poe complimented her, placing a hand behind her back to give her side a hug. Returning the embrace and the compliment, Rey thanked him. Taking a moment to look at him, she noticed he wore sunglasses and kind of wished she’d done the same with how sunny it was outside.

 

Lining up the cast of their movie, a coordinator of sorts places Finn beside her on the right and she hears him laughing at something Rose mentioned to him. Looking over at Rey, he greeted her affectionately with the nickname he’d given her, “hey, peanut.” He kissed her cheek as she hugged him quickly. They’d truly become the best of friends throughout the making of the movie.

 

Once Luke showed up (not late but yet not exactly on time either), he was finding his place amongst his stars when they finally began walking onto the carpet, stopping to pose for the photographers. If Rey thought there were too many flashes, she wasn’t prepared for this. Going off left and right, she was blinded by how bright everything was.

 

There was a brief second of relief as they turned around to face the other side of photographers. Rey glanced down at her high heeled shoes and took a deep breath before looking back up, but not immediately back at the sea of flashing lights. She checked over to her left and saw Ben looking at her; grinning the moment he noticed her looking back at him. Across the people between them, she smiled back at him and then turned to face the cameras once again.

 

They moved at a slow pace to get to the steps of the Palais des Festivals and once they all finally reached it, Rey was so immensely grateful for it. Clutching her champagne-colored dress at her knees, Rey is careful not to trip over herself, making her way steadily up the stairs.

 

At the top of the first set of steps, she makes her way to get back into line to face out to the crowd with her co-stars for more photo-ops. The line has changed up quite a bit by the time she reaches them, so she’s squeezed in between Luke and Kaydel. Which is fine. However, she notices she’s only one person away from Ben now, who’s standing with Luke.

 

With her arms placed around both Luke and Kaydel, she’s being held in return, and she can just barely feel the tips of Ben’s fingers touching her arm behind Luke. After some more photos of the cast standing together, yet another person is motioning all of them to continue up the rest of the stairs.

 

Bazine and Kaydel stay behind to take some solo shots for the photographers begging for their attention while the rest of the cast makes their way to the very top. Rey grabs a hold of her dress once more as she steps slowly up the rest of the way, now feeling suddenly extremely nervous, ridden with anxiety at the thought that everyone was waiting inside for the film to start.

 

Rey Johnson was a newcomer and just the thought of her completely fucking this up made her want to throw up. All she really wants is to just come out of this unscathed. She only hopes Luke knew what he was doing by inviting her to join the rest of the talented cast on his film.

 

So lost in her thoughts, Rey regrets not paying attention to her surroundings closely instantly when she finds herself almost tripping over a bit of fabric on her dress on the last two steps. Eyes wide, she’s reaching out for anything. Literally,  _anything_ to brace onto. Everything was going in slow motion for her. Just when she thinks she’s about to completely lose her balance and topple over, a hand grasps onto her own. Gripping tightly onto whoever saved her, she looks up and there’s Ben, standing half a step above her.

 

Embarrassed, Rey laughs as she blushes and looks at their joined hands then back up into his eyes. “I ah- thank you,” she stammers. Shaking his head in a “don’t-worry-about-it” kind of way, she drops his hand and places it back on her dress to adjust it, moving the slit around her leg to make sure it looks intact for the cameras.

 

He doesn’t say much to her, but she’s come to the conclusion that he’s quiet and keeps to himself. Even though they have no scenes together, Rey’s run into him before a couple of times on set, in passing takes, and every time she’s seen him, they never said more than two words to each other. A simple “ _hey_ ” would be the length of their entire conversation.

 

But now there’s just one last photo-op at the top of the stairs and everyone’s settling themselves in the line up to face the crowd again. There’s an opening between Bazine and Ben and Rey somehow finds herself being placed in between the two leading actors. And odd placement, she thinks to herself, glancing over at Finn, she finds him at ease alongside Poe and Hux at the very end, chuckling as jokes are being made amid the three of them. That’s where she should be, not dead center of the line standing beside Ben Solo.

 

Ben’s arm slowly wraps around Rey’s waist and she can feel his large hand finding its place just on top of her ribcage. He gets dangerously close beneath her breast, but she doesn’t move him away - his hands are just massive, it must be on accident. Nevertheless, her heart hammers against her chest… she’s overwhelmed by him. Rey chances a glance over to him and she looks him over - he stands taller than the rest of them, his dark hair perfectly set by his stylist, his black and white tuxedo suit fitting him properly. He’s as polished looking as his shoes were.

 

This is as close as she’s ever gotten to Ben Solo.

 

Rey watches as he brings up his free arm to wave at the crowd in the distance and she’s realizing now that he’s only wrapped his arm around her. The sound of cameras clicking away brings her to yet another realization that now she’s going to be staring at Ben in the photos and she instantly looks back to the crowd, waving to them as well, mimicking his movements. As they cheer, as the cameras flash away, Ben’s hand trails down to her hip and she’s wondering how she got here - the feeling of his hand now burning through her satin dress.

 

There was absolutely no denying it, Ben Solo was just as attractive as everyone said he was. Up close and personal with him now, Rey can undoubtedly (and unfortunately) confirm it for herself.

 

Rey overhears a French announcer mentioning that the showing will start momentarily and that everyone should make their way inside as soon as possible. With that, the hand from her hip drops and she’s looking back up to Ben, shocked that he’s looking at her. “After you,” he says and it’s the first time she’s heard him speak so she’s amazed by how deep but also how soft it is.

 

She smiles at the outstretched arm before him, guiding her way into the doors, she feels his hand being placed in the small of her back. They all shuffle inside the doors and are being moved into the auditorium where everyone awaits them. Rey notices the cameraman moving with them as he captures everyone walking inside. All eyes are on them as everyone claps as they’re all announced.

 

Ben strolls beside her down the aisle and Finn meets her at the end of their row, gesturing for her to sit down next to him. There’s a seating arrangement and she’s glad to find out that she’s with Finn. Ben is at ease when he follows closely behind Rey and takes a seat that’s labeled for Rose. Knowing that he’s passed his own seat, Rose doesn’t miss a step as she just takes the next available seat. “You nervous? I’m nervous,” Finn mutters so that only Rey can hear it.

 

“Yeah, extremely nervous,” she admits just as quietly.

 

The theatre darkens and everyone’s quieted down, readying themselves for the film to start. There’s a bit of an introduction and not too long after, it begins.

 

Not a fan of watching herself on the large screen, Rey looks down during the scenes she’s in - butterflies all in her stomach, a complete nervous wreck. She just hopes it doesn’t show on her face.

 

But before she knows it, it’s over and everyone’s applauding, giving them a standing ovation. She’s standing up out of her seat welcoming the applause but also clapping along with them. As traditions go, the applause goes on for a while, with the audience showing their appreciation to the director and the stars.

 

It goes without saying, really - the audience and the jury received it extremely well. People are always impressed by everything Luke Skywalker creates. It’s as if he can do no wrong. Luke is reaching around to everyone, giving each one of his cast a hug. When he reaches his nephew, there’s a moment that Rey witnesses between the two of them, a pause, then a tentative hug.

 

Finn’s beaming. Rose has tears in her eyes. Poe is chuckling to himself, accepting of all the praise he’s being rewarded. Bazine and Kaydel are holding hands, waving to the people up in the balcony. Armitage is standing perfectly still, a faint smile on his face but if you blink you’ll miss it.

 

And to Rey’s surprise, Ben’s … bashful? Hiding away from the camera pointed directly at them, displaying their reactions on the giant screen in the room. Whenever the camera ends up landing on him, he’s immediately attempting to redirect to anyone else. It ends up being to Rey, who is just next to him.

 

Slyly, he points over to her, clapping in her direction with a closed-lip smile on his face. It works; the cameraman is sent to tape her and she’s biting her lip, trying to look anywhere except into the lens, instead looking at the crowd and clapping in their direction. “Thank you,” she mouths.

 

She feels a hand at the base of her spine before she sees a large shadow and then - “you were wonderful.” He steps back as soon as he tells her that, giving her back her space. Her cheeks turn a pink color and Rey turns to see him still smiling at her.

 

“Thank you,” she grabs a hold of his arm while he’s still clapping and he’s instinctively leaning down to her. As she stands a little closer, she compliments him back, “you were _amazing_.”

 

It wasn’t a lie. Or anything to butter him up. She was truly blown away by his performance. He had her believe that he was this broken soul without a hope in the world left to save him. The anguish he could portray on screen was immaculate and so soulful; Rey was left moved and inspired by him at the end of it all.

 

The stars of the film are meant to leave the auditorium first, so they slowly begin their walk back outside the doors. Along the way, people are greeting them left and right with praise. When there was once so much nervous energy floating around Rey, she now feels complete calm. The worst was now over and she could finally enjoy herself.

 

They walk back to the cars which would take them back to their hotels respectively, photos being taken nonstop, every single move is captured by the photographers. Reaching some more steps, Rey laughs and it makes Finn turn around as well as Ben who was walking just ahead of her.

 

Both of them go back to her and grab a hold of her hands, assisting her down the stairs. Rey’s filled with laughter once they reach the bottom of the steps. “Thanks, guys,” she tells them gratefully.

 

“ _Rey! Rey! Rey!_ ” her name is now being shouted by some paparazzi outside and she’s looking at them strangely. It wasn’t unwelcomed, just so different for her considering her company. Finn drops her hand and says, “I’ll see you at the dinner in an hour!” He heads straight to one of the cars, not pausing for a photo.

 

“Ben! A photo, s'il vous plaît!”

 

“Come here for a moment,” she hears him tell her. Pulling her back into his side as he did earlier, they stand together while people pass behind them, trying to leave the festival. “Hope you don’t mind,” he mummers under his breath in her direction.

 

Not breaking her pose, staring back at the lenses of the people taking photos of her, she shakes her head, “I don’t. However, I think Bazine might.”

 

“Mmm,” he hums, glancing back in another direction and Rey follows his shoulder check. She finds Bazine standing beside a man she can’t recognize - but her hand is on his chest as she stares up at him with a tender smile. “Yeah, I doubt that,” Ben chuckles, looking back to her with a mirthful smile.

 

“Ah, shit,” Rey blushes, as she tucks her hair behind her ear. They reposition to face the other wall of cameras pointed at them. “Well, you know… rumors,” she shrugs in an unapologetic way, joking back with him.

 

He doesn’t respond to that as they continue to pose for the cameras, moving ever so slightly for different angles. While she can’t see it, she thinks she can feel his thumb slightly brushing against her back as he holds her.

 

After a minute, he says, “thank you” to the photographers and he’s moving them away from the cameras and over to the line of cars. He helps her into one of the cars and shuts the door for her, hitting the top of it twice when she’s inside. She watches as he walks away.

 

* * *

 

The dinner at Agora is just as extravagant as it sounds.

 

While Rey enjoyed her dress this morning, she’d gotten tired of wearing it and was beyond thrilled when her stylist had offered her a black, ruffled off-shoulder jumpsuit. Keeping her high heels, she changed quickly and got her hair and makeup done once again.

 

She goes with Rose in the same car to Agora and Rose is scrolling through several news articles about the first reviews of the movie.

 

“Oh my god, look Rey!” she squeals, holding the phone to face Rey. “This one talks about you, specifically!”

 

In disbelief, Rey simply gives Rose a look and says, “yeah, okay.”

 

Shrugging, Rose looks back at her phone and reads off, “ _And while Ms. Johnson plays a rather small role in the film, she still shines bright in her scenes._ ” Rey grabs Rose's phone and reads the rest of it, her heart jumping in her chest at the review. Most of the article discusses Ben and Bazine (as the rest of them do) but goes more in depth of the other cast members as well.

 

“Wow,” she breathes out.

 

When they reach the restaurant, there’s a massive crowd and the sun’s finally set behind the horizon. There’s a beautiful glow to the place and she can smell the salty air wafting in from the Bay of Cannes from where she’s at. Of course, it’s loud and there are cameras flashing, but she’s gotten so used to it now.

 

The moment Rose and Rey arrive, there’s a slight drizzle so people are beginning to walk around with umbrellas. A couple of umbrellas are placed above Rey and Rose's heads as they walk towards the restaurant, walking around the barricades and right towards the bright lights. They stop and take a few photos and walk inside.

 

It’s busy and there are many, _many_ people to talk to. Rey’s head is spinning by the time she reaches the table and her stomach growls at the thought of a good meal. Champagne is delivered to her in a chute and she accepts it, thanking the waiter. Music is being played by a live band and she’s enjoying it, bobbing her head to the beat, sipping from her drink. She’s joined quickly by the same group of people she’s been with all day long.

 

“Rey! Did you see the review you got?” Finn excitedly asks her, sitting down next to her. “Rose sent it to me. I’m so proud of you, peanut!” Rey blushes and shakes her head. “Nah, don’t you play it down. It’s seriously great.”

 

“Yeah, I know,” she laughs into her glass. “I mean, it’s all thanks to Luke though,” she says as he passes her by, getting to his own seat.

 

Hearing his name, Luke stops and grabs her hand. “Thanks for what?”

 

“For making me look good. For making all of us look good, we aren’t worthy,” she says, half joking, half serious. She starts a gesture as if she's bowing to him whilst sitting in her seat, facing him and he’s laughing with her.

 

“You’re welcome. Although, I didn’t do much. I was fortunate enough to have such a brilliantly talented cast.” A well-rehearsed line.

 

Either way, the compliment goes a long way with her. This night was turning out to be one of the most magical nights of her life so far. She’s glad that she could make Luke proud of the hard work they all put together to create a piece of art deserving of a Cannes Film Festival recognition.

 

Everyone comes in to sit down at the table one by one. There’s a shuffle of seats between Poe and Ben once they arrive and she’s not surprised to find Ben sitting beside her. Rey’s the first one to break the ice when she greets him with a simple smile and a quick, “hey."

 

Watching him as she sips on her champagne, she sees that his suit hasn’t changed much from the day as it’s probably the same exact one. She really can’t tell the difference if there were any. He’s comfortable around her as he leans back into his chair and greets her back. A waiter walks by behind her and he places his arm on the back of her chair, his slight hand movement catching the man’s attention. “Whiskey, neat,” Ben tells him and the waiter is already on his way to go take care of his order.

 

He keeps his arm on the back of her chair as she leans onto the table, talking to Finn about the views of the city. “I can’t believe how beautiful this place is,” she gushes.

 

“Oh, I know. It’s nothing like London,” he agrees with her. “It’s impossible to view anything without getting hounded by the press though.”

 

She knows that to be true. While she’s wanted to go and explore the French Riviera (even a little bit), she’s found that she has absolutely zero time to do so. Rey was booked and busy the moment she stepped out of the airplane in France. Not that she minds working but she wishes she could reveal in the sights of the city at the very least. It’s only two days she’s there for the festival and events that come along with it but she’s wishing she had just one more day. For herself.

 

“It can happen,” she hears Ben say, breaking her out of her thoughts.

 

Rey’s confused. “What can happen?”

 

“You just said you wished you had one more day in Cannes…,” Ben explains to her. Her eyes go wide and she realizes then she’d said it out loud and not just to herself. “You can make it happen. Just tell your manager. They’ll work it out with you.”

 

Shrugging, Rey brushing it off, “No, it’s fine. I can come back another time probably. I don’t want to inconvenience anyone.”

 

“Oh okay,” he takes the whiskey glass being offered to him by the waiter and he thanks him. “So just inconvenience yourself then.”

 

“It’s not that big of a deal, really,” she argues. “I’m sure my manager wouldn’t mind but she’s already planned out my schedule this month, I’d just hate for her to change any of it just because I want to stay in France for one more night.”

 

He laughs. “You’re something else, you know that, right?”

 

“Mmm, so I’ve been told,” she says back to him, unfazed by his comment. Downing the rest of her champagne, she’s ordering another as soon as they grab the empty chute.

 

The food’s delicious and Rey can’t help but moan when she bites into it. As quiet as she thinks it was, she hears Ben clear his throat beside her and take another sip from his whiskey. “That good, huh?”

 

“Let me live,” Rey is quick to reply. “And yes, it’s probably the best I’ve ever had.”

 

He snickers into his glass and she can’t help but look at him now. He’s looking at her over the rim of his glass with playful eyes and it’s so unfair that they’re literally catching the light, looking at her with a sparkle in them. It’s so unfair, she thinks, how handsome he is.

 

The food comes and goes in many different types and forms of dishes and when they’re finally onto the last course of the evening, Rey is absolutely stuffed and can’t bear to look at any more of it. She’s thinking she might have to skip out on dessert, unfortunately. Her favorite part.

 

“God, this looks so good,” Rose says and Bazine agrees with her across the way as a small portion of cake with whipped cream and strawberries lands in front of them.

 

Off to the side, Hux and Poe are chuckling about something Kaydel was telling them as Bazine and Rose were taking photos of their dessert, discussing to Finn how they would upload it onto their Instagrams and tag each other on it. At this Finn is getting out of his seat to go over to Poe and join in on the discussion with whatever they’re talking about - as it had to be better than a whole conversation about which filter to pick on Instagram.

 

Rey is leaning back into her seat, slumped over from how full she feels. Groaning, she turns to look at Ben who’s pushing his hair back with one of his massive hands - _god, why_. At the sound of her groaning, he looks at her. “So, what’s up?” she asks him casually. “Finn left me alone, you’re all I’ve got now.”

 

“I can see that.”

 

“Is this your first time coming to Cannes or is it like the tenth?” She knows he's been there before, it was a dumb, slightly rhetoric question but she asked it anyway.

 

“Not the first but definitely not the tenth time either,” he laughs. “I believe it's my fourth time being here.”

 

“Wow,” she exclaims softly. “You really are the actor of our generation.”

 

“God,” he throws his head back, “I’m really not. I wish people would stop saying that about me.”

 

“What if they’re true?” He’s silent but he brings his head back to look at her again. “I mean, you really are extremely talented. And you’ve won many awards. You already have an Oscar and you’re just basically in your prime. Magazines are calling you the hottest celebrity ever. It’s impressive, really.”

 

“What’s more impressive is the amount of research you’ve done on me,” he points out as if to turn the conversation away from him. “Besides, you’re going to be the next big thing - let’s discuss.”

 

He clasps his hands in front of him, placing his forearm on the back of his chair, shifting his body completely towards her. “No, no, no,” Rey shakes her head, another champagne chute being downed at this point. “I am most certainly not. But thank you for that anyway.”

 

“You’ll see,” he says it mysteriously as if he’s seen the future or something. Intrigued by what he sees in her, she leans closer and she can’t tell if it’s the amount of champagne she's drunk or if she’s just intoxicated by being around him, but she’s feeling some kind of way with him.

 

Warm. Happy. Playful.

 

It’s nice.

 

Ben’s turned back to the dessert in front of him and he picks up his fork to taste it. Rey can only watch him since she’s too full to participate. “It’s so good, you have to try it, Rey,” he tells her. Even with her protesting and saying she’s already too full, he takes his fork and pushes it in her direction.

 

“No, no, Ben, please, I’m so full,” she whines, closing her eyes.

 

“You’ll regret it if you don’t at least try it,” he tells her softly and she looks at him again, he’s much closer now with his hand under his fork, making sure nothing drops. His words held almost a double meaning, it was clear that he was implying something underneath it and all she can do it study his face to figure him out.

 

While her eyes stay glued and focused on his, she leans forward, putting her mouth around his fork and pulls back. Swallowing the sweet bite, still staring at him as she licks her lips, she agrees with him. “It’s amazing. Just like everything else.”

 

He swallows and shifts in his seat, breaking eye contact. Placing his fork on his plate, he pushes the dish away from him, putting the tablecloth napkin from his lap back onto the table. Rey can see him thinking something over as his eyebrows furrowed together. He clears his throat, his eyes glancing back over to her then back in front of him on the table.

 

Rey says nothing. No wonder people love him, she thinks, it’s fascinating just watching him doing simple, ordinary things. Let alone show his talent in films.

 

As she’s sipping on her fifth glass of champagne, she hears him say to her, “you going to the after-party?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Do you want to go together?”

 

“Yes.”

 

* * *

 

 

It was irresponsible of her. She knows it.

 

The next day she woke up and she had the worst headache. The curtains were drawn, the sun barely peeking through the sides. The room was completely dark and for that, she was extremely thankful.

 

Pushing her head into the fluffy pillow, she squeezes her eyes before she’s slowly opening them back up. She sees an empty space and she sighs in relief. The first last thing she remembers from last night was that dinner at Agora. And the after-party. Leaving with Ben… and oh, _god…_ Ben.

 

As she reaches her hand up to place it over her mouth, she looks around at her surroundings. She notices the duvet was pulled down in the space beside her and the pillow had an indention in it and she’s sitting up in bed immediately. The duvet and bed sheet falls as soon as she does and she realizes also that’s she’s naked. Grabbing the sheet, she pulls it back up and grabs at her phone on the bedside table.

 

The brightness hurts her eyes but as soon as she turns it down all the way, she notices a message from her manager, Amilyn, from an hour ago: **I’m glad you’re having fun in Cannes. Try not to do anything too crazy tho pls, much love - A**

 

“Christ, oh god, oh god, oh god,” she chants to herself. “Please,” she begs as she opens up Twitter. _Please don’t let there be any photos._

 

She has so many notifications, she doesn’t even know where to begin looking. She starts by searching her name, which she absolutely hates doing and she finds so many photos of herself at the film festival. There are solo shots of her walking and then there are pictures of her standing beside Luke, Kaydel, and Finn.

 

And, as she figured, there were images of her looking at Ben when she stood beside him at the top of the steps. “Oh _lord_ ,” she whimpers, zooming in on herself. “Why am I looking at him like _that_ ? What the _fuck_ was I _doing_?”

 

More photos of him and her, one set of photos, in particular, makes her heart flutter. It was after the showing of the movie and the moment where she was looking at the camera and he’s looking down at her, saying something by her ear. The moment when he grabbed her hand to pull her to his side for pictures, “ _hope you don’t mind_ ” was captured as well.

 

Not really wanting to look at the comments on the thread, she does it anyway and it’s… not what she was expecting.

 

@ **bensololuvr** : oh my godddddd, look at them, so beautiful

 

@ **benreys** : they left the after party TOGETHER omfg their MINDS

 

@ **reyjohnnsons** : @benreys everybody wanted to know what i would do, if i didn't win... i guess we'll never know

 

@ **benreys** : @reyjohnnsons: it’s so obvious it HURTS wtf

 

@ **bazinesnumber1** : ugh, as much as i wanted ben and baz to be together... they look cute tho, i can’t lie

 

@ **benjaminorganas** : dude, i fuckin love cannes. what a day

 

Many others included the thirstiest tweets about Ben and she laughed at some of them. She went into one of the many interesting usernames’ profile and ended up scrolling through their tweets to see if there was anything else she was missing.

 

And yeah, she definitely was.

 

@ **benreys** : omg omg OMG did y’all see the picture of them leaving the restaurant together?! i-

 

@ **benreys** : ahHHHHHHHH hoLY SHIT LOOK - I CANNOT BELIEVE??? MY EYES???

 

Attached to the tweets are two blurry, dark photos of two people huddled up close together, no space between the two of them and she thinks it shouldn’t be _that_ obvious but she can make out her face and his tall figure and it gives them away. The first one isn’t so bad, it’s just him leaning over her, his back to the camera and her looking up at him with a giant smile on her face.

 

Rey runs a hand over her face and she wants to scream. Pulling the phone closer to her face, she’s trying to see how dumb she looks. “Idiot,” she admits to herself in the quietness of her room as she zooms into her (drunken) smile on the photo.

 

The second photo, though, is entirely different. It’s a picture of him guiding her towards a car, his arm around her, his hand resting on her hip, all while she’s leaning back into him. It’s oddly intimate to her even now as she remembers that moment.

 

> _Rey was giggling as she held onto him. Hailing a car to take them to the after-party wasn’t difficult, not by a long shot as they were constantly lined up for the celebrities to get them from place to place. However, in this case, Ben decided to go a more discreet route as Rey was begging him not to go out in front where all the photographers were._
> 
>  
> 
> _He held onto her hand as they made their way to the car in the back. A few people noticed them but didn’t say anything. There was a group of people a little ways away (and this is how, Rey thinks, the photos surfaced)._
> 
>  
> 
> _“Rey,” he says to her, “come on,” he managed to tell her throughout laughter of his own. She wasn’t going to though - instead, she pushed away from him, still holding onto his hand and twirled herself underneath it. Shaking his head, he pulls her back._
> 
>  
> 
> _They end up going to the ritzy party where everything is glamorous and everything sparkles. The music’s ten times louder than it has been all day and Rey continues drinking. And with each drink, she loses control of her body slowly - her legs and arms starting to feel as if they’re not attached to her - like they’re numb to her._
> 
>  
> 
> _She’s been dancing with everyone - the girls, Finn, even people she doesn’t know. It becomes obvious to her that everyone’s paying even more attention to her now than they ever had, prior to the showing of the movie. Many compliments come her way and she’s accepting of all of them._
> 
>  
> 
> _The night goes on and she ends up finding herself wrapped in Ben’s arms as they held each other, dancing closely in the crowded room. There’s a Tame Impala song blaring and it’s all she can hear. All she can feel is the bass of the song and Ben’s soft touches surrounding her._
> 
>  
> 
> _There aren’t any photographers allowed in here and she’s so thankful for that. All she’s really worried about - and all she can really think about, rather - is Ben Solo. His hands tracing her curves, his tall legs pushing in between her own as he sinks down a little to level with her. It feels amazing to know she’s the focus of his attention._
> 
>  
> 
> _So she lets go and allows herself to be caught up in this moment with him._
> 
>  
> 
> _“Where can we go where people won’t find us?” she asks him so that only he can hear her. With all the people around her, she’s still aware that she doesn’t want anyone to know anything._
> 
>  
> 
> _“Not too many places, unfortunately,” he admits. “But I know one place.” She hums inquisitively. “Back at the hotel.”_
> 
>  
> 
> _“Oh.”_
> 
>  
> 
> _Ben’s worried she takes it the wrong way and stands even closer (if that were possible) and leans over her. “I don’t want you to think that I…” he trails off, not finding the right words to say to her. “I mean… fuck.” She giggles again at him swearing and getting easily frustrated. “What I mean to say is that … we could just hang out… at the hotel,” he finishes lamely._
> 
>  
> 
> _“Ben,” she says._
> 
>  
> 
> _“You’re wonderful and I really enjoy spending time with you,” he says right next to her ear._
> 
>  
> 
> _“Ben! It’s okay,” she smiles, inches apart from his face - she could count the moles and imperfections. “Let’s go,” she says light-heartedly. With that, he’s smiling back at her and it’s such a real, honest smile, not one of those picture-perfect smiles he’s so good at putting on. It’s one she’d like to think is only for her. And just the thought of that makes the hair on her arms stand up._
> 
>  
> 
> _But she knows that isn’t true. She can dream though._
> 
>  
> 
> _Once they stepped outside into the cool air, Ben’s shaking his suit jacket off of himself and placing it over her shoulders. There’s flashes of light from a good distance away from them and she is able to use the jacket to shield her face away from them._
> 
>  
> 
> _With his hand on her back, he guides her to the car waiting for them and she sits inside of it. Ben pushes the door shut for her, even though she’s aware there are a multitude amount of people at Cannes that could have done that for him._
> 
>  
> 
> _Within seconds, he’s sitting beside her in the car and she looks over at him. “The hotel, yeah,” he replies to the driver’s question and she watches as he turns to look back at her._
> 
>  
> 
> _His hand goes up to her face and he caresses her cheek softly with his thumb._
> 
>  
> 
> _She licks her lips._
> 
>  
> 
> _And he’s leaning in._

 

Then - it honestly gets a little blurry after that memory. Rey vaguely remembers the arrival to the hotel.

 

Rey messages back Amilyn: **well, i think you already know don’t you**

 

There was an immediate response: **Yes. We’ll discuss it later.**

 

Sighing, she places the phone down on the bedside table and falls back down to the pillows. Turning to look over at the empty spot next to her, she wonders if … if he was even there. Shifting closer to the pillow beside her, she gently tugs it to her and she pushes her face into it, inhaling deeply.

 

_His soft touches, his feathered kisses up and down her body, worshipping her like a goddess…_

 

There are flashbacks of what happened last night and it slowly comes back to her piece by piece. She swears up and down she wouldn’t drink alcohol ever again. Completely her decision - she’d let it get the best of her and now she was suffering the consequences of her actions.

 

Still - Rey doesn’t know why he would just… leave? She’s all alone and left wondering where he was at.

 

Groaning into the pillow and lifting herself up from the bed and she makes her way towards the bathroom to start her day.

 

* * *

 

“Rey, this was pretty foolish of you but I can’t tell you what you can and cannot do obviously,” Amilyn tells her over the phone.

 

“I know, I’m so sorry Amilyn,” she apologizes.

 

“It’s alright,” she tells her lightly. “Ben Solo’s current image works very well with yours if … you know, you were going to go that route. Now, I do not know any details and I’m thankful it doesn’t _look_ bad … You don’t need to tell me anything, but it would be a lot easier if we worked on this together.”

 

Their conference call went surprisingly well, all things considered.

 

And Rey’s morning wasn’t going too terribly either, considering the hangover she was nursing.

 

The only thing she was terrified of was the possibility of running into Ben if he was staying for the photocall, conference, and interviews. Unashamedly, while she sat in the chair getting her hair done, she searched for updates on Ben via Twitter. It was rumored that he’d already left early in the morning to jump on a plane to Los Angeles for another role.

 

If true, it definitely stung. Rey couldn’t lie to herself.

 

If not, and Ben was still in Cannes doing the rest of the promos with the remaining cast members, she wouldn’t know how to act.

 

She had her answer later that afternoon when she arrived back at the Palais des Festivals (this time she had her sunglasses ready regardless of the weather). Photographers were getting her photo taken instantly, saying her name left and right - much unlike they did the day before.

 

Walking up the steps to join the rest of her co-stars, she sees him in yet another black suit, with a regular black tie this time and he’s wearing sunglasses, exactly like her. Looking insanely good. Angrily, she pushes down the urge to go wrap her hands around his throat just for being there.

 

Trying hard to avoid him in the group photo, she sneaks up next to Finn and Rose and stands in between them on the complete opposite side of him. “How are you feeling?” Rose snickers while the photos are being taken.

 

“I’ve definitely been better,” she replies.

 

“Oh, really?” Finn sounds from behind a smile. “One could say that you’ve had a better time than the rest of us,” he prods.

 

“I don’t know what you’re referring to,” she plays dumb and ignores both of them and their laughter.

 

There are solo shots wanted to be taken as per the request of the photographers and Rey waits her turn patiently while the main stars go in front of her. Ben is more than an arm’s length away from her with Hux standing in between them. She itches to walk a little further away just to create more distance and she almost does when he looks her way.

 

Once it’s her turn to go, she stands there for a couple of minutes smiling back at the crowd of photographers. Some commenting on how beautiful and talented she was and that makes her genuinely laugh and thank them in return.

 

“Ms. Johnson, they are requesting you and Mr. Solo to stand together for just a couple shots if you do not mind,” one of the coordinators is saying to her and she wants nothing more than to just tell him that yes - yes, she most definitely minds.

 

Nevertheless, she watches as he walks over to her with a slow pace and waits for him to stand beside her. Not touching one another.

 

“Sunglasses, off, yes?” one of the men behind their camera asks them from the back.

 

Not wanting to, Rey takes them off, being polite to the crowd. She notes that Ben grimaces as he takes his own off.

 

A couple more seconds pass and then there’s another request from the crowd. “Closer, please?”

 

There are others that agree with the one who asks it and Rey almost calls it quits there.

 

Ben unravels his hands from in front of him and wraps one arm around her back while Rey moves to stand closer. As soon as they’re standing closer, holding each other, the flashes intensify and she’s aware that they knew what they were doing when they requested the photo. This would sell big for the trashy, gossip magazines.

 

“You’re supposed to be in Los Angeles,” she mutters under her breath, knowing that only he could hear it.

 

He makes the tiniest movement in return and swallows. Continuing to look at the cameras, he doesn’t smile back even when they ask it of him. “Tomorrow,” was his only response.

 

“How wonderful,” she bites back.

 

“Rey,” is all he says tiredly and she’s breaking free of their hold on each other, waving to the cameras as she thanks them. She needs to get out of there.

 

Moving past the coordinators, she can hear them saying that their press conference is being held indoors and that it will start within the next half hour. “Are you alright?” Kaydel wonders as Rey quickly walks by her.

 

“I’m fine. I’ll be right there. Bathroom,” she explains in a haste.

 

As she makes her way inside the tall glass doors, she notices she’s being followed by the security team to keep the celebrities away from any press members or photographers. There are plenty of people waiting inside for the conference to start and she breezes right past them, not stopping to answer their quick questions.

 

Rey finds the restroom and as she rounds the corner, she notices that she wasn’t just being tailed by security but also Ben. He doesn’t say anything but she can tell that he wants to just before she steps inside and closes the door behind her.

 

She wastes a couple of minutes of just standing in her stall after she uses the restroom just to see if she could possibly wait it out. Hoping that he’ll just give up eventually. She’s proved wrong when she exits and sees him leaning against the wall.

 

Upon hearing the door open and shut, he perks up and pushes off the wall. “I know,” he says to her. “I’m sorry.”

 

Gritting her teeth, she walks towards the conference area with him matching her pace. “Don’t.”

 

“Don’t what?”

 

“You don’t have to explain yourself. I get it,” she says abruptly. Then she changes her mind almost immediately. Swiveling, she stops in front of him and he trips over himself at her sudden movement. “Is this something you usually do?”

 

There’s a firm response from him when he says, “no.”

 

Without noticing it, people were watching their conversation with sparked interest. “Mr. Solo, Ms. Johnson, if you don’t mind to make your way inside the conference area. The event is about to start and you are able to keep away from the press before they all enter,” the security guard is mentioning to them. Rey looks at the man with the “sécurité” jacket and nods with understanding.

 

Ben and Rey shuffle into the large room and notice only a couple people are inside, setting up. Grabbing onto his arm, she tugs him over to a secluded corner in the back.

 

“Give me an honest answer - do you remember anything?” she asks him.

 

“Yes,” he draws out. “You don’t?”

 

“I do. I remember getting back to the hotel with you and I’m unfortunately extremely aware of the fact that I woke up naked and alone this morning,” she crosses her arms over her chest. “So did we… did we-? Or did I just dream it?” she finds out that she doesn’t want to say it out loud, but she’s implying it while keeping her voice as quiet as she possibly can.

 

Looking down at his shoes, he stuffs one of his hands into his pockets and runs the other one down his face and then through his hair. “Rey, you told me…,” he trails off and shakes his head in disbelief then looks back at her. “Afterwards, you told me that it was a one-time thing and that it couldn’t happen ever again.”

 

Shocked, she stands there letting his words fall heavily on her.

 

“So yeah, I left. I’m sorry I did that,” he finishes, shrugging. He was clearly offended by the words she must have said to him after they’d had sex last night.

 

“Oh my god,” she whines. “Ben,” she shuts her eyes and keeps them closed. “I didn’t - I wasn’t -” she stutters.

 

“It’s fine, I get it.”

 

“No,” she’s wide-eyed now, attempting to stop him from leaving their corner, grabbing onto his arm. “I just want you to know that I - I mean, I definitely had a lot of drinks last night. And I really, _god, I really wish_ that I could remember everything from last night. And I’m sorry that I wasn’t myself.” Rey blushes instantly when she finishes that sentence, awkwardly too.

 

“I had a lot to drink as well,” he admits.

 

There’s a bit of silence as they both stand there awkwardly, neither one of them knowing what to do next.

 

“But that doesn’t mean I would’ve changed anything about it. I like you, Rey,” he says, waving his arm to the side as if it’s obvious. Her mouth goes dry and she’s probably gaping at him. “And I don’t regret any of it. I just hope that you don’t either.”

 

“Ben… before coming here, I had no idea what to expect. This goes beyond my wildest dreams. I mean… you’re,” she starts making hand gestures as she tries to explain, “you’re like the biggest celebrity I’ve ever met by far. I’m just a nobody. You could have anyone.”

 

“I want you. Just you.”

 

Her eyes light up at his proclamation. She smiles and then grins sadly at him. “Fuck, this is a mess. I’m such a mess.”

 

He laughs with her. “I think that might be my favorite thing about you so far… well, that and that you’re amazing.” Rey rolls her eyes with a sarcastic smirk. “I’m being serious. I watched you on set every time you went on and it was ... well, it took my breath away.”

 

“Oh my god,” she drones, trying to push away the compliment he was offering to her. “Please stop,” she begs him, jokingly. “You did not.”

 

“Believe it or not,” he simply says.

 

Inhaling deeply, she says, “Well, I like you too. As if it isn’t obvious enough.”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“You haven’t seen the photos we’ve taken so far at the festival? Literally, everyone is talking about us online right now. I guess it’s pretty obvious if they’ve picked up on it.”

 

“Oh, yeah. I’ve seen those,” he answers, then he stops to think for just a second. “I really liked them. You’re beautiful in every single one, it’s incredible.”

 

“Alright, Ben,” she shoves at his shoulder, laughing. He’s laying it on thick. “Let’s go get ready for this conference, it’s about to start.”

 

He stands closer to her and then -

 

He kisses her without a single care. And she finds that she doesn’t particularly care who sees them either.

 

When he pulls away, she’s left wanting more.

 

“Let’s go,” he smirks, holding out his hand.

 

She takes it.

 

* * *

 

There’s a sea-salt breeze coming from the balcony running past the open french doors as the waves from the ocean push it inland and into Rey’s hotel room. The sun’s just starting to rise and with its wake, it creates the most gorgeous painting in the sky with streaks of yellows, pinks, and blues.

 

When she wakes up, she feels a heavy weight running across her chest and she’s immediately aware that it’s an arm as it pulls her close to the person’s chest behind her. Biting her lip, she contains a happy laugh to herself and she turns around to see Ben. He’s pretending to still be asleep but she knows he’s awake because he’s got this slight smile on his face that gives him away.

 

Rey leans in to place the lightest kiss on his cheek. In response, he hums softly. Then another kiss - this time on his eyebrow. Ben’s lips tug even wider in return. She pulls back but he’s catching her with his arm once again and pulls her back to him. “No,” he mutters.

 

Now, she lets out a gentle laugh. “It’s time to get up, we have a plane to catch soon,” she says to him.

 

He moans and nuzzles his face even further into his pillow. “Let’s just… stay here. Forever.”

 

“As nice as that sounds, I don’t think it’s possible,” she says nicely to him as she places her hand against his cheek. He turns to kiss her palm and then his eyes open up to look at her finally.

 

“Fine. But come here for a second,” he says, pleading with her.

 

“Mmm, I don’t know about that. The last time you said that was last night and look how far it got us,” she jokes even when she’s laying back down beside him.

 

“I know.” Ben gets up suddenly and rests on his elbow to lean down onto her. His hair falls into his face and she brushes it back affectionately.

 

Ben moves down to stop just before her lips and he’s teasing her with them as he doesn’t close the space automatically. So, she waits on him to make the final move. When she realizes after a good ten seconds that he isn’t going to, she lets out an exasperated sigh.

 

Rey closes the space and his head moves down with hers as they kiss.

 

Once they break apart for air, she mutters against his lips, “unbelievable.” He can only smirk in return.

 

They make their way out of the hotel together, hand in hand, and go to their airport where they both have to catch different planes. She’s going back to London and he’s going to Los Angeles. Paparazzi are surrounding them as they walk into the airport and even though she’s still slightly nervous about what the media will think or say, she doesn’t care.

 

Because she’s with Ben. And she isn’t going to let that take away from their time spent together.

 

So they say goodbye with one last kiss and he tells her he’s going to call her as soon as he lands.

 

And that’s good enough for her.

 

* * *

 

@ **benreys** : ok but can we discuss when they asked ben about rey he said that she was “the most amazing actress” and that he “only hopes to work alongside her next time” !!!!! like he’s so in love i can’t

 

@ **bensololuvr** : when they were at the conference, did you guys SEE how they were looking at each other??? holy shit, the chemistry is insane between them

 

@ **reysoflight** : omg, ladies - the pictures at the airport?! THEY LEFT A DAY AFTER EVERYONE ELSE WHAT

 

@ **reyandben4eva** : someone said that they saw them walking and holding hands as they walked the Croisette last night then went back to the hotel together…  they’re officially a couple you guys

 

@ **reyjohnson** : love cannes. 10/10 would recommend

             @ **benreys** : @reyjohnson aslkadjslkdhakhauidahs are you serious

             @ **benjaminorganas** : @reyjohnson i can’t believe this is happening

             @ **reysoflight** : @reyjohnson understandable tbh

             @ **bensolo** : @reyjohnson only if you’re there

                 @ **benreys** : @bensolo @reyjohnson o m f g. you GUYS

 

**Author's Note:**

> yeaaah, so there was a ton of cannes inspo for this fic as you may have guessed. i just hope this one shot doesn't suck too much :) haha  
> song title reference is "dream with you (feat. sam darton)" by blvmenkind


End file.
